One of the speeches addresses a complete overturn of the law, while another is crafted as if the court strikes down the law’s individual mandate but upholds other provisions. The third speech, for if the court upholds the entire law, is more celebratory, according to this person.

***

Let’s put all this in historical context. The Democratic party is the oldest existing political party in the entire world, and it was founded as a people’s party. Andrew Jackson’s veto message of a bill to recharter the Bank of the United States stands to this day as a kind of mission statement for the modern party…

The individual mandate is an overwhelmingly unpopular item that requires a patently unjust transfer of wealth for the purpose of paying off the interest groups that have the biggest financial stake in health care. Considered next to Jackson’s veto message: It is a signal that the Democratic party has become the opposite of what its founders intended to be. The individual mandate is a testimony to the broken nature of the modern party. It is a symbol that, despite their egalitarian rhetoric, contemporary Democrats are ready, willing, and able to bend the policy needle toward the interests of “the rich… and the potent,” at the expense of the “farmers, mechanics, and laborers.”

***

Mitt Romney reserved some of his harshest criticism of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law for the eve of the Supreme Court ruling that will decide its fate, labeling the law as “moral failure” by a president who chose to focus on healthcare, rather than jobs, at a time of national economic crisis.

“His policies were not focused on creating jobs. They were focused on implementing his liberal agenda. There’s nothing wrong with people having an agenda, but when the country’s in crisis, you have a moral responsibility to focus on helping people come out of that crisis,” Romney said at a rally here Wednesday evening. “It was not just bad policy; it was a moral failure to put forward a piece of legislation that wouldn’t help Americans get back to work, and to focus the energy of the White House on Obamacare.”

“If you get Kennedy, I don’t think that Roberts would want it to look political” and oppose it, Pelosi said, alluding to the fact that Roberts has said he favors unanimity on his court…

Pelosi voiced confidence that the healthcare law she helped draft will meet any constitutional test. “It is ironclad. We didn’t do this off the back of our hand,” she said.

***

Becerra said the “worst outcome” would be a 5-4 decision, because “that will go, unfortunately, a long way [toward] confirming this growing belief in the gut of the American people that the Supreme Court no longer cares so much about the Constitution, it cares more about politics.”

Becerra added, “We should all take some time tonight to pray a little to make sure the Supreme Court doesn’t come out with another 5-4 decision which, once again, unmasks its political tendencies.”

***

When Democrats lose, however, they tend to place the blame a little higher. The Supreme Court is rigged. The election was stolen by Diebold voting machines. After John Kerry lost in 2004, Democrats snickered about an electoral map showing the “real America” being composed of the West Coast and Northeast. The rest of the map — the red states Bush carried — was dubbed “Jesusland.” The inference being that the real problem was with the American people.

All of which is why, facing the prospect of losing the Obamacare case, the left’s first instinct hasn’t been to blame a bad law. Or bad lawyering. Or even just bad luck. No, to the liberal mind there are no bad outcomes; only broken systems. (In the Washington Post, Jonathan Turley claimed the very possibility Obamacare might be struck down suggested we should rethink the structure of the high court. He proposes we start by installing 10 more justices.)

And so, later this week liberal Democrats will condemn the high court as a body no longer fit to adjudicate our nation’s laws. It will have to be reformed and remade before any American, anywhere, can sleep soundly.

***

[Ezra] Klein wrote this week of how the Right built a “permission structure” allowing conservative judges to rule the individual mandate unconstitutional.

Here’s the flip side of that story: liberal Strategic Epistemic Closure is all about dismantling any permission structure on the Right. For instance, get enough elites to dismiss an idea, and boom, it’s “discredited.” Get enough liberals to act shocked at a proposal, and you’ve made it “controversial.” Then pretend some objective standard has been met, and warn the media not to give credence to discredited or controversial ideas…

[A] permission structure has been built in the form of legal precedent — including many bad decisions by liberal judges — slowly making it possible for Washington to do what sounds absurd on its face: forcing us into intrastate commerce in the name of regulating interstate commerce.

This debate is indeed a political debate, in the best and highest sense. But that does not make it a cynical debate, or an illegitimate one. On the contrary. The apparent inability of many left-wing commentators to see that point tells us more than all their diatribes in recent days. Their anger about the very possibility that the Court might disagree with them about Obamacare suggests that they do not believe that there can be such a thing as a serious political debate — they take serious and political to be opposites. And it shows.

Blowback

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Most trolls are of the “hit-and-run” type. They harp on some lefty meme for several comments, carefully picking phrases from conservative reponses to try to bolster their claims. But, they flee as soon as the heat gets hot.

I have that on vinyl around here somewhere. Good stuff. Welch was under-appreciated as a member of Fleetwood Mac, and I never understood Mick Fleetwood’s decision to leave him out of the R&R Hall Of Fame deal. Fleetwood is an ass, good musician or not.

novaculus on June 28, 2012 at 4:17 AM

I’ve got it on vinyl, too, as well as mp3.

Have you heard this Paris demo? I found it on YouTube, and just listened to it – it’s good.

Seriously, though, if I’m visiting my mom, and Odumbo starts to readin’ his teleprompter on the TV, I have to plug my ears for all of the vulgarity she spouts.

My brother-in-law’s family is another deal, altogether. They’re old school democrats–which means they’re actually conservatives whose tradition is to vote for democrats. I don’t get it, either. But, when I have a political discussion with one of them, they always uphold the conservative viewpoint. (Brilliant marketing?)

And so, later this week liberal Democrats will condemn the high court as a body no longer fit to adjudicate our nation’s laws. It will have to be reformed and remade before any American, anywhere, can sleep soundly.

If it fully overturned I know I will sleep soundly, and there is a wild fire burning less than 15 miles from the house my wife and kids are sleeping in.

I think it is this frikin SF gay area fog ,saturated with pot,cocaine and everything else, that totally fuels their neurons .
Did you know that after his funding of Solyndra with taxpayer money , these useful idiots classified Husein as a
” venture capitalist” and ” entrepreneur ” !!

Nice guys don’t aggressively seek the slaughter of post abortion babies, by starving them to death.
Nice guys don’t send our tax money overseas to provide involuntary forced abortions on unwilling mothers.
Nice guys don’t jam abortion down the throats of people and call it health care.
Nice guys don’t try to attack their very conscience and cunningly try to make them choose between a livelihood or their God.
Nice guys could never seek to deprive good people of their freedom.

Welch was under-appreciated as a member of Fleetwood Mac, and I never understood Mick Fleetwood’s decision to leave him out of the R&R Hall Of Fame deal. Fleetwood is an ass, good musician or not.

novaculus on June 28, 2012 at 4:17 AM

Welch had sued Fleetwood & the McVies over royalties when they renegotiated their deal without including him, and they didn’t speak for many years. The HOF came in that period. The suit was eventually settled.

He should have been included, but legal battles have a way of creating grudges.

I love this “political decision” talking point, if it comes down to 5-4 vote. You see, the 4 in the minority are pure, dispassionate, unbiased truth tellers. It’s the 5 in the majority who are the corrupt, political hacks on the bench.

Indeed it is! We’ve got the unraveling of the worst government power grab “since the Great Depression” (how many times have we heard those 4 words over the last 4 years?) along with the contempt of Congress vote on the Attorney Criminal!

Completed live blog of orders and opinions : Sponsored by Bloomberg Law

With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as opinions are issued this Thursday. Once you see the window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do not refresh your browser. Updates will appear without the need for refreshing.

From 8:45am to 10:00am EDT we will answer as many questions from readers as we can. At ten o’clock we will switch to reporting on opinions.

Our completed live-blog coverage of June 25 orders and opinions is below.
========

Indeed it is! We’ve got the unraveling of the worst government power grab “since the Great Depression” (how many times have we heard those 4 words over the last 4 years?) along with the contempt of Congress vote on the Attorney Criminal!

To quote the VPOTUS, “this is a big, f–king deal!”

MJBrutus on June 28, 2012 at 5:47 AM

MJBrutus:

Yup,Holder is going down too,btw,I guess the US Forest Service
cancelled more waterbombers for Denver…..another Obama disaster!

Colo. Gov. Hickenlooper defended President Obama Wednesday over the number of air tankers fighting wildfires across the state – @denverpost

From MJ,strange,I watched the news of it rolling in,
as Scarborough was talk`n!!

Romney calls Obamacare ‘moral failure’
11 Hours ago
************

STERLING, Va. — Mitt Romney reserved some of his harshest criticism of President Barack Obama’s health care reform law for the eve of the Supreme Court ruling that will decide its fate, labeling the law as “moral failure” by a president who chose to focus on healthcare, rather than jobs, at a time of national economic crisis.

“His policies were not focused on creating jobs. They were focused on implementing his liberal agenda. There’s nothing wrong with people having an agenda, but when the country’s in crisis, you have a moral responsibility to focus on helping people come out of that crisis,” Romney said at a rally here Wednesday evening. “It was not just bad policy; it was a moral failure to put forward a piece of legislation that wouldn’t help Americans get back to work, and to focus the energy of the White House on Obamacare.”

With the Supreme Court expected to rule on the constitutionality of the law – which includes the individual mandate — on Thursday morning, Romney took the opportunity to batter the controversial law before a friendly, energetic audience, suggesting that Obama will spend a sleepless night tonight fretting about the future of the legislation.

“My guess is they’re not sleeping real well at the White House tonight. That’s the way it ought to be,” Romney said. “And this is a decision, by the way, about whether or not Obamacare is constitutional, whether it passes constitutional muster. So we’re all waiting to see how the court will decide, one thing we already know however — we already know it’s bad policy and it’s got to go.”

Romney went on to preview, as he did at a campaign stop in southern Virginia on Tuesday, his response to the court’s possible action on the law. The former Massachusetts governor said that if the law is upheld, he would work to repeal it as president, and if it gets struck down, he would replace it with “real reform.” Romney did not specify what such reforms would entail.

Democrats quickly pounced on Romney’s critique of the law, pointing out that the federal law was inspired by Massachusetts’s health care law that Romney helped to enact, complete with an individual mandate similar to the one he now assails.

“In Virginia today, Mitt Romney cheered for a repeal of Obamacare, which was modeled after Romney’s own health care law in Massachusetts that he now runs away from,” Obama spokeswoman Lis Smith said in the statement. “But Americans won’t be cheering for Mitt Romney after they learn that his plan for health care would allow insurance companies to discriminate against them if they have a pre-existing condition, kick their kids off their parents’ plans when they graduate, and charge women higher premiums than they charge men for the same coverage.”
=======================================

OT update on Norm:Written 8 hours ago
Today dad walked twice. He’s been having such shortness of breath with any exertion, as well as feeling like there’s a weight on his chest. Because of these things, the doctor decided to do a thoracentesis this afternoon. This is a procedure where they insert a needle into the side of the patient and drain fluid from around the lungs. Over 1.5 liters was drained off. Dad seemed to think this helped, but he had been heavily sedated for this procedure so only time will tell.

We are beginning to look forward to moving dad to a rehab center. If things continue to improve as they have been, this could be soon.

We have been enjoying all the kind sentiments posted on the guestbook. We share these with dad, and let him read them himself. It’s good therapy for him!

“Dad” quote: Dad and Lisa were having a conversation today, in which dad declared he was going to leave the joint.
Lisa: “No, you’re not.”
Dad: “Do you think God put you in this place to challenge me?”
Lisa: “Yes.”
Dad: “That’s terrible. You’re good at it!”

Mornin’ all. Got SCOTUSblog up and the coffee on. Been up since 3:30…in a fit of nerves and middle of the night decision-making failure I ordered that Julia Roberts flick, “Mirror Mirror”. Bizarre rendering of the Snow White story ending with a Bollywood song and dance. How bad is it when a grown woman orders a fairy tale flick at 3:30 AM? :-)

Maybe I need Mimosas instead of coffee. Any more of this nervewracking waiting and I’m gonna go completely over the edge! LOL

I should`ve mentioned this before,my wife works for VON
(she not a nurse)works the hospice thingy,and helps those
that are on there way to the other side,prayers to Norm,
keep up the good work———————-:)

In the event the individual mandate is upheld because healthcare is a “unique” market that has an “inordinate” impact on the nation’s economy, please be advised that I shall forthwith beginning lobbying Congress and every other elected official (and unelected apparatchik) to pass laws requiring all individuals and businesses to insure against financial “illness” and its “catastrophic effects, including personal bankruptcy and effects on the nation’s economy.” Thus, all persons owing money to any financial institution that is insured by the Federal government, including insurance companies pursuant to former Senator Chris Dodd’s amendment to the FDICIA of 1991, will be forced to insure against default.

Want to buy a home and need a mortgage? You will henceforth be mandated by the Federal government to carry mortgage insurance until your mortgage is paid off regardless of your credit history, credit rating, net worth, and employment history.

Want to finance an automobile? You will henceforth be mandated by the Federal government to carry loan insurance until your loan is paid off regardless of your credit history, credit rating, net worth, and employment history.

Want to have a credit card? You will henceforth be mandated by the Federal government to carry default insurance for as long as your account is open regardless of your credit history, credit rating, net worth, and employment history.

After all, we have seen the catastrophic effects of foreclosures and other credit defaults on the economy.

Oh, and there will be no exceptions under the Community Reinvestment Act.

“The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.” – Ronald Reagan